promulgate

Definition of promulgate

1: to make (an idea, belief, etc.) known to many people by open declaration : proclaim… the huge meeting served primarily as the occasion on which to promulgate the official doctrine …— Roger ShattuckFrom the beginning our objective has been to develop and promulgate new models for the calculus-based introductory course.— John S. Rigden et al.

2a: to make known or public the terms of (a proposed law)
The law was promulgated in February 1993.

b: to put (a law or rule) into action or force
… more than 200 colleges and universities have promulgated behavioral codes that punish various forms of harassment …— Ken Myers

Synonyms for promulgate

Choose the Right Synonym for promulgate

declare, announce, proclaim, promulgate mean to make known publicly. declare implies explicitness and usually formality in making known.
the referee declared the contest a draw announce implies the declaration of something for the first time.
announced their engagement at a party proclaim implies declaring clearly, forcefully, and authoritatively.
the president proclaimed a national day of mourning promulgate implies the proclaiming of a dogma, doctrine, or law.
promulgated an edict of religious toleration

Did You Know?

The origin of promulgate is a bit murky, or perhaps we should say "milky." It comes from Latin promulgatus, which in turn derives from pro-, meaning "forward," and -mulgare, a form that is probably related to the verb mulgēre, meaning "to milk" or "to extract." Mulgēre is an ancestor of the English word emulsion ("mixture of mutually insoluble liquids"), and it is also related to the Old English word that became milk itself. Like its synonyms declare,announce, and proclaim,promulgate means to make known publicly. It particularly implies the proclaiming of a dogma, doctrine, or law.

Examples of promulgate in a Sentence

Her ideas have been widely promulgated on the Internet.
The law was promulgated in April 1988.

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'promulgate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.